1986 in video gaming
1986 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Metroid, Out Run and Bubble Bobble. Events Gauntlet takes Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. Notable releases *January 1 - Commodore releases Mind Walker for the Amiga. It keeps running, unmodified, on all versions of the Amiga hardware and OS. *February - Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, their first game to use a Yamaha YM2151 FM sound chip. *February 21 — Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda (designed by Shigeru Miyamoto for the Family Computer Disk System), the first game in The Legend of Zelda series. *February - SNK releases Ikari Warriors, which shares many elements with Taito's Front Line from 1982, but adds two-player simultaneous play and visuals closer to 1985's Commando. It's SNK's breakthrough game in the US. *May 27 - Enix releases Dragon Quest for the Famicom, which is usually considered the foremost Japanese role-playing video game, and is the first game in a series that has been phenomenally successful in Japan. *June 3 - Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as the sequel to the Super Mario Bros. The game was not released in North America, partially because it was deemed too difficult. *July 8 - Namco releases The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to The Tower of Druaga. *July - Ten years after Atari's Breakout, Taito releases Arkanoid, which adds power-ups and unique levels and generally reinvigorates the concept. *August 6 — Nintendo releases Metroid by Makoto Kano, the first in the Metroid series. *August 15 – Electronic Arts releases open-ended space exploration adventure game Starflight, which goes on to sell a million copies. *August - Taito Corporation releases Bubble Bobble. *September 12 - Hudson Soft releases Adventure Island. *September 20 - Sega releases the ''Out Run racing game. *September 26 — Konami releases Akumajō Dracula for the Famicom Disk System, the first game in the Castlevania series. *October 1 - Namco releases Genpei Tōma Den. *November 1 - Sega releases Alex Kidd in Miracle World, It is the first game in the Alex Kidd series created for this character, and the most popular of all Alex Kidd games. *October - Sierra On-Line expands their "Quest" line with King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human and Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter. *December 19 - Nintendo releases Kid Icarus. *December - Namco releases Rolling Thunder, distributed outside Japan by Atari Games. *Activision releases Labyrinth: The Computer Game. Developed by Lucasfilm Games, this is the first of the LucasArts adventure games. *New World Computing releases Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum for the Apple II, the first installment in the Might and Magic series. Hardware *September - Apple releases the final computer in the Apple II line, the 16-bit Apple IIgs with professional synthesizer-quality audio. *Namco releases the Namco System 86 arcade system board. *Atari releases the 1040ST personal computer, the second in the ST line. With a megabyte of RAM and a price of USD$999, it's the first computer with a cost-per-kilobyte of under $1. *Atari releases the Atari 7800 console two years after its original test market date. *Atari releases the 2600 Jr., a smaller 2600 for under US$50, and begins a TV campaign with the slogan "the fun is back!" *Sega releases the Sega Master System home console in the US. *Sharp releases the Twin Famicom home console only in Japan. *Nintendo releases the Family Computer Disk System (an add-on for the Famicom) in Japan only. *Texas Instruments releases the TMS34010, a CPU with graphics-oriented instructions. Eventually it powers arcade games such as Hard Drivin', Smash TV, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam. Business *New companies: Acclaim, Majesco Entertainment, Ubi Soft, Bethesda Softworks, Tradewest *Defunct: Imagic. *June 13 - Activision merges with Infocom Inc. *Activision acquires Gamestar Software. *Sinclair Research Ltd. is acquired by Amstrad. References Category:1986 in video gaming Category:1986 video games Category:Years in video gaming Video gaming